A small telco providing 128kbps ADSL is providing BROADBAND
just as much as as a 2mbps megatelco. Technically and
absolutely it is BROADBAND if it is not BASEBAND. The bitrate
is irrelevant.
Actually, definition for a term like "broadband" is never going to be
engraved in stone for all time, it's a relative term. Times change, software
bloats, etc. In 2007 128kbps just doesn't cut it for most of us (hell,
1.5Mbps doesn't cut it anymore), and the fact you do not feel that way is
fine. You are entitled to your opinion. But as you yourself revealed you
do not live on 128kbps anymore, you have a T1 now. Also there is absolutely
nothing anywhere in that bill which would fuel monopoly concerns.
So not trying to be evil here, but just how seriously do you imagine we
should take that opinion?
There is no excuse for getting two services then canceling them.
Actually, I didn't think I needed an excuse -- I was just going by the
claims made by the sales literature (now I know better). This is why we need
government definitions for goods and services, even with it companies
obfuscate the releveant issues and even flat-out lie in their quest for
our money, and too often there is little recourse.
But I can see we are not likely to agree on this as we are probably at opposite
ends of the political spectrum. I do believe government has a responsibility
to police business as well as people for everone's protection.
Just streaming content takes bandwidth --
sorry but one needn't be a "leech" for it to be an issue.
Really it sort of looks to me like you may be astroturfing for
a telco, but maybe you're just an older, very lightweight internet user.
I use the internet for much of my work -- downloading and uploading
large documents and having to view multimedia presentations in various
formats. Why should I have to buy and pay for a service before discovering
whether or not it is suitable? That's the way it has been of course, which
is why I paid early termination fees on two accounts before signing with speakeasy.
In what world could you call that sort of experience a good thing?
This bill was written solely to upset the current relatively free market of broadband.
We do not have anything remotely resembling a free market for any communications services in the U.S.
I can't imagine where you got that idea...
Because the government will set "standards" of speed, this leaves smaller providers
-- who may still be able to provide acceptable speeds -- out of the market. If you won't be able to
give the minimum, get out of the market.
I doubt anyone is going to cry about inadequate service providers being forced to stop describing
their service as "broadband" or even going belly up. Not that there is much danger of that probably...
For goodness' sake, this is 2007 -- 2Mbps minimum in order to call it "broadband" is perfectly
reasonable...
Can VOIP providers who aren't connected with a Telco make a go of it?
Yes.
I fired the phone comany two years ago, now I have a Speakeasy data line with their VOIP running on it.
Unless I am running more than five torrents my phone calls are near perfect every time and I pay a small
flat rate for the VOIP, which includes calls to 22 countries 24/7/365 at no additional charge.
Of course, the internet access itself is a lot more expensive than the rate I had with ATT but after
factoring in the old ATT phone bill (rarely less than $80/month) it comes out to about the same
as I always paid but with much better internet service, and of course no ATT.
The network infrastructure in this country was bought and paid for
by the taxpayers, yet it is still held hostage by Big Telcos
-- and cell technology is just a complete waste.
I'll own a "mobile phone" (I am required to use one so it is provided
my employer) when I can get a proper networkerd device with satellite
access which does VOIP, as God intended!
Well it isn't terribly Politically Correct of me I suppose but I like Opera best in part because it is the most standards-compliant browser (AFAIK).
Firefox is trying so hard to replace IE functionality specifically that IMO it naturally will tend to have similar problems.
And that's the problem with MS co-opting and polluting standards and why that should be illegal...
Yahoo and TVGuide both had free listings online last I checked. What's wrong with using theirs? (If that's a stoopid question
I apologise, I do not watch TV or use any PVR:)
...and Michael Moore is one of the few people with enough influence who has the sense to keep harping on it. I just saw Sicko (via bittorrent) and it was very good.
Of course as a nation we really are insane; most people still don't see the problem with putting the richest corporations in charge of absolutely everything and calling it "freedom".
It's discouraging to me to see that people are still so naiive as to be surprised by stuff like this. We all know spam could be history with a few simple changes in the way we do smtp, therefore we should all know the reason it doesn't happen is that big business profits from spam.
You may think I'm crazy, but I envy you.
Forty-seven years as an american consumer has burned me out. I plan to retire in a few years to a hut in Vrndavan and live simply and peacefully.
Read TFA -- The headline of the summary is an outright lie. No patent in evidence.
Next story:/. sub makes fool of self,/.editors!
Oh wait, that's not really news.
I was considering him, but that level of disloyalty and ungraciousness absolutely disqualifies him to even work in my mailroom.
Joseph Anthony did a large volume of high quality work over nearly three years as a volunteer-- he contributed in a significant way to Obama's rise to presidential hopeful.It's inexcusable.
And Obama is widely hailed as an idealist.
Of course this makes him no worse than most other major party politicians these days. But I'm sick of it, we don't have to have these vain, stupid, money-grubbing, power-mad sellouts "representing" us, do we?
It would appear most of them are just puppets really, their strings pulled by Big Business.
I suggest a new meme for 2008: Don't throw your vote away -- don't vote for the major party candidates!
Spread it around. And please, vote your conscience. If enough of us do it we can turn the old meme ("not voting dem or rep is throwing your vote away") completely upside-down.
Slashdot Mirror
Actually, definition for a term like "broadband" is never going to be engraved in stone for all time, it's a relative term. Times change, software bloats, etc. In 2007 128kbps just doesn't cut it for most of us (hell, 1.5Mbps doesn't cut it anymore), and the fact you do not feel that way is fine. You are entitled to your opinion. But as you yourself revealed you do not live on 128kbps anymore, you have a T1 now. Also there is absolutely nothing anywhere in that bill which would fuel monopoly concerns.
So not trying to be evil here, but just how seriously do you imagine we should take that opinion?
Actually, I didn't think I needed an excuse -- I was just going by the claims made by the sales literature (now I know better). This is why we need government definitions for goods and services, even with it companies obfuscate the releveant issues and even flat-out lie in their quest for our money, and too often there is little recourse.
But I can see we are not likely to agree on this as we are probably at opposite ends of the political spectrum. I do believe government has a responsibility to police business as well as people for everone's protection.
No-one loves a M$ troll. You idiots sure are busy lately...
Just streaming content takes bandwidth -- sorry but one needn't be a "leech" for it to be an issue.
Really it sort of looks to me like you may be astroturfing for a telco, but maybe you're just an older, very lightweight internet user.
I use the internet for much of my work -- downloading and uploading large documents and having to view multimedia presentations in various formats. Why should I have to buy and pay for a service before discovering whether or not it is suitable? That's the way it has been of course, which is why I paid early termination fees on two accounts before signing with speakeasy.
In what world could you call that sort of experience a good thing?
We do not have anything remotely resembling a free market for any communications services in the U.S. I can't imagine where you got that idea...
I doubt anyone is going to cry about inadequate service providers being forced to stop describing their service as "broadband" or even going belly up. Not that there is much danger of that probably...
For goodness' sake, this is 2007 -- 2Mbps minimum in order to call it "broadband" is perfectly reasonable...
How to obtain that very hard to obtain OS:
http://www.mosix.org/txt_grid.html
http://www.mosix.com.au/prices.html
Yes. I fired the phone comany two years ago, now I have a Speakeasy data line with their VOIP running on it. Unless I am running more than five torrents my phone calls are near perfect every time and I pay a small flat rate for the VOIP, which includes calls to 22 countries 24/7/365 at no additional charge. Of course, the internet access itself is a lot more expensive than the rate I had with ATT but after factoring in the old ATT phone bill (rarely less than $80/month) it comes out to about the same as I always paid but with much better internet service, and of course no ATT.
Not shilling, just a satisfied customer.
RiceDiesel
Or set up your MUA to work with Gmail's servers via ssl. That's what I do.
The network infrastructure in this country was bought and paid for by the taxpayers, yet it is still held hostage by Big Telcos -- and cell technology is just a complete waste. I'll own a "mobile phone" (I am required to use one so it is provided my employer) when I can get a proper networkerd device with satellite access which does VOIP, as God intended!
It is fair use. Also the guitar chords and beat are not copywriteable, only the melody and lyrics.
No no, you forgot the POW! ...
Super Lucky POW! A-Number One
Well it isn't terribly Politically Correct of me I suppose but I like Opera best in part because it is the most standards-compliant browser (AFAIK).
Firefox is trying so hard to replace IE functionality specifically that IMO it naturally will tend to have similar problems.
And that's the problem with MS co-opting and polluting standards and why that should be illegal...
Seems to work just fine for me so far in Opera 9.20 on OS X.
You might want to switch to a more standards-compliant browser then...
Well seeing as how so many people do live for their TV time I am more than certain someone will put together XML TV listings for you all soon.
Yahoo and TVGuide both had free listings online last I checked. What's wrong with using theirs? (If that's a stoopid question I apologise, I do not watch TV or use any PVR:)
...and Michael Moore is one of the few people with enough influence who has the sense to keep harping on it. I just saw Sicko (via bittorrent) and it was very good.
Of course as a nation we really are insane; most people still don't see the problem with putting the richest corporations in charge of absolutely everything and calling it "freedom".
Yes, I'm sure you did and certain you will, but it's too bad really. You are just showing off your lack of understanding of OS design principles.
It's discouraging to me to see that people are still so naiive as to be surprised by stuff like this. We all know spam could be history with a few simple changes in the way we do smtp, therefore we should all know the reason it doesn't happen is that big business profits from spam.
Oh yeah, where? I don't see any men in drag or naked women in it...
O rly?
What about the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the genocide of the indigenous people of several continents?
I take it history was not your best subject.
You may think I'm crazy, but I envy you. Forty-seven years as an american consumer has burned me out. I plan to retire in a few years to a hut in Vrndavan and live simply and peacefully.
Read TFA -- The headline of the summary is an outright lie. No patent in evidence. Next story: /. sub makes fool of self, /.editors!
Oh wait, that's not really news.
Obviously I laugh in the face of karma...
WARNING: I'm going to ramble a bit...
I was considering him, but that level of disloyalty and ungraciousness absolutely disqualifies him to even work in my mailroom.
Joseph Anthony did a large volume of high quality work over nearly three years as a volunteer -- he contributed in a significant way to Obama's rise to presidential hopeful.It's inexcusable.
And Obama is widely hailed as an idealist. Of course this makes him no worse than most other major party politicians these days. But I'm sick of it, we don't have to have these vain, stupid, money-grubbing, power-mad sellouts "representing" us, do we? It would appear most of them are just puppets really, their strings pulled by Big Business.
I suggest a new meme for 2008: Don't throw your vote away -- don't vote for the major party candidates!
Spread it around. And please, vote your conscience. If enough of us do it we can turn the old meme ("not voting dem or rep is throwing your vote away") completely upside-down.